The diversity (5-16 species) and abundance (0.2-1.0 individuals/m) of scorpions suggest that they may be quite ecologically important in desert communities. Ecological importance is considered in terms of population energetics (the quantity of energy and mass flowing through populations) and of regulation of community structure and dynamics (influence on the distribution and abundance of other species). The energetic analysis provided three conclusions: I) Scorpions monopolise a relatively large share of animal biomass, particularly relative to vertebrates and other arthropods. 2) This relative success is due to a suite of autecological traits (very low metabolism and very high assimilation efficiency leading to low energy requirements; and great tolerances to water stress, heat and starvation) that allows scorpions to prosper under the unpredictable and low food availability conditions that characterise deserts. 3) However, these traits lessen their impact on energetics, prey and competitors. Thus the importance of scorpions relative to homeothermic vertebrates is less than an analysis of density and biomass suggest because scorpions require and process prey in quantities relatively low to their biomass. Nevertheless, as a group, scorpions are probably important conduits of energy flow in deserts. Research on the interactions among scorpions and between scorpions and spiders strongly suggests that scorpions can play key roles in the structure and dynamics of their communities. Studies in the deserts of California, Baja California and Namibia show that intraguild predation by scorpions is a major force determining the (temporal and spatial) distribution, abundance and age structure of populations of their competitors/prey. Keywords: Namibia, Namib Desert, Kuiseb River, Araneae, desert scorpions, arachnid fauna, distribution, intraguild predation, population ecology, community ecology, abundance, age structure.