The evolutionary clade and biodiversity of green lizards of the genera Lacerta and Timon — reptiles common in the Mediterranean basin and surrounding areas of the European continent, North Africa and Asia — have never been studied in detail from the perspective of historical biogeography. Now researchers present a new scenario for deciphering the potential evolutionary processes that have acted — separately or together — to give rise to the biodiversity of species in this group in Mediterranean ecosystems.The evolutionary clade and biodiversity of green lizards of the genera Lacerta and Timon — reptiles common in the Mediterranean basin and surrounding areas of the European continent, North Africa and Asia — have never been studied in detail from the perspective of historical biogeography. Now researchers present a new scenario for deciphering the potential evolutionary processes that have acted — separately or together — to give rise to the biodiversity of species in this group in Mediterranean ecosystems.