The karyotype of the Namaqua chamaeleon, Chamaeleo namaquensis Smith, 1831, has 24 chromosomes consisting of 12 macro- and 12 microchromosomes. This chromosome pattern is characteristic of the C. chamaeleon (Linnaeus, 1758) species group and indicates that C. namaquensis is amember of that taxon. It is hypothesized that C. namaquensis and C. chamaeleon are the most ecologically specialized and recently evolved taxa in the chamaeleon group.