Southern Africa has the richest reptile diversity in Africa, with a fauna that currently exceeds 490 species. Present rates of discovery, which for lizards are still comparable to those in the early phases of exploration, indicate that the fauna may approach, if not exceed, 600 species. Lizards form the dominant component (60.9%) of the reptile fauna. The 578 recognised taxa (species and subspecies) were described by 101 authors, of which 12 authors were responsible for 12 or more taxa and together named 68.9% of the total taxa. The five most productive authors were, in order: A. Smith, W. Peters, D. Broadley, J. Hewitt, and V. FitzSimons. The contributions of these authors, the growth in herpetological studies in the last 25 years, and the importance of regional surveys in the development of biogeographic models, are summarised. Over 50 species of reptile have very restricted distributions (less than 3 quarter-degree grid squares) and may be of conservation concern. Despite national rhetoric evincing concern for the biodiversity crisis, there has been a recent decline in herpetological posts and manpower.