[9] The genus has been subdivided into seven subgenera based primarily on the number and positions of specialized setae on the gonocoxites of the male genitalia.

Two additional subgenera have since been recognised: Baimaia (Southeast Asia only) by Harbach et al. in 2005 and Lophopodomyia (Neotropical) by Antunes in 1937.

The subgenus Baimaia may be elevated to genus level, as it appears to be a sister group to Bironella and all other Anopheles.

The larger subgenera (Anopheles, Cellia, and Nyssorhynchus) have been subdivided into sections and series, which in turn have been divided into groups and subgroups.

The first species complex was described in 1926 when the problem of nontransmission of malaria by Anopheles gambiae was solved by Falleroni, who recognised that An.

Reid and Knight (1961) modified this classification by subdividing the subgenus Anopheles into two sections, Angusticorn and Laticorn and six series.

This classification was developed by Grjebine (in 1966), Reid (in 1968), and Gillies & de Meillon (also in 1968)[13] based on the work by Edwards in 1932.

Series definition within this subgenus is based on the cibarial armature - a collection of specialized spicules borne ventrally at the posterior margin of the cibarium - which was first used as a taxonomic method by Christophers in 1933.

Kerteszia is a small subgenus found in South America whose larvae have specific ecological requirements; these can only develop within water that accumulates at the base of the follicular axis of the epiphytic Bromeliaceae.

The following are currently regarded as nomina nuda: A subgroup of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto has been reported and given the name Goundry.