The Herpetological Collection comprises 160,000 amphibian and reptiles, of which the oldest specimens are 280 years old. It contains 1,400 shells, skeletons and dry specimens, approximately 155,000 ethanol preserved animals, as well as tissue samples and recordings of frog calls. It also contains approximately 5,000 photos of various specimens (mainly type specimens) and micro CT scans of over 1,000 species.

While the historical part of the collection (mid-18th century to before the Second World War) comprises species from all over the world, the current research focus is mainly on African amphibians.

More recent collections usually hold exact geo-referenced records (whereas older records are usually less exact), tissue samples, colour photographs, and recordings of their advertisement calls, for frogs for instance, in the Tierstimmenarchiv.