There has been very little work on the higher classification of this subfamily until recent times. Linnavuori (1982) presented an extensive discussion of the phylogeny of African genera, but refrained from using actual tribal names. Kamaluddin and Ahmad in a series of papers have erected several tribal names to contain the Indian genera. Their classification does not totally agree with that of Linnavuori, but between the two, with some intuition, most phyllocephaline genera can be placed to tribe.

Ahmad and his associates, in a series of papers worked extensively on the higher classification of the subfamily, erecting three new tribal names, and assigned a number of genera to the nominate tribe. Their classification is:

Basically, Ahmad’s classification goes something like this. Those genera which have the humeral angles greatly expanded and produced anteriorly with the anterolateral margins toothed or crenulate belong in the Cressonini; the very elongate slender species belong in the Megarrhamphini; the species which have the lateral margins of the head expanded and laminate belong in the Tetrodini; and all others would belong in the Phyllocephalini. By combining the above two classifications with a little intuition, we have arrived at the following classification for this catalog: