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Namibia is mostly an arid and semi-arid country with a high number of reptile and fewer amphibian species. We review the herpetological literature dealing with Namibian species over the past fifty years, and provide up-to-date amphibian and reptile accounts using a widely accepted taxonomy and nomenclature. We critically discuss species accounts, draw attention to the historical development of species inventories for the country, and indicate species endemism for Namibia and the Namib Desert. In Namibia, the lizard families Gekkonidae, Lacertidae, and Scincidae have undergone adaptive radiations and are species-rich. This also applies to the snake family Psammophiidae. Areas of herpetological research that have received most attention are systematics (with its disciplines faunistics (area inventories), taxonomy, and phylogeny), ecology, and physiology. The former is indicative of early stages of herpetological research such as area inventories and the subsequent analyzes of the collections. The latter two were largely enabled by (1) species highly adapted to life in the hyper-arid Namib Desert, and (2) by the accessibility of these species in the Namib Desert through the infrastructure provided by the Gobabeb Research and Training Center. The majority of the eco-physiological research has focused on three highly psammophilus, diurnal lizard species; Meroles anchietae, M. cuneirostris, and Gerrhosaurus skoogi, whilst diverse geckos form the basis of eco-morphological studies. The concentration of research localities around cities and the Gobabeb Research and Training Center is characteristic for opportunistic research. Geographic centers of herpetological research have been the central Namib Desert (i.e. Gobabeb), and areas around Swakopmund and Windhoek. Extensive parts of Namibia remain barely touched. Herpetological publication frequency has been approximately the same since its beginning in the early 1800's until the 1970's. The period between 1986 and 2003 experienced a remarkable increase of publication activity that has slightly subsided around 2004 and picked up again in recent years. Recent conservation related studies investigate the impact of overgrazing with land degradation and water related issues such as canals and hydroelectric dam projects on herpetological communities. In the near future the impact of mining, especially Uranium mining in the Namib Desert, and the effects of climate change with the predicted drying and warming will demand increased attention. Advances in biotechnology with ever-increasing amounts of data and decreasing cost have and will progressively enable advances in traditional disciplines like taxonomy, phylogeny, and systematics. Additionally, these technologies will increasingly empower the newer disciplines of molecular ecology and conservation biology in Namibia. Annotated, updated species checklists highlight Namibian and Namib diversity and endemicity, and also direct researchers to the numerous taxonomic problems that still confound full understanding of the region's herpetofauna.
