Our results show that bat SCoVrCs and SCoV2rCs have different ecological niches: that of SCoVrCs covers mainly China and several adjacent countries and extends to latitudes between 18° and 43°N, whereas that of SCoV2rCs covers northern mainland Southeast Asia and extends to latitudes between 10° and 24°N. Most Rhinolophus species involved in the ecological niche of SCoVrCs have to hibernate in winter when insect populations become significantly less abundant. This may be different for most Rhinolophus species involved in the ecological niche of SCoVrC2s. Since this ecological difference may be crucial for the dynamics of viral transmission among bat populations, it needs to be further studied through comparative field surveys in different regions of China and Southeast Asia. The ecological niches of SCoVrCs and SCoV2rCs slightly overlap in the zone including southern Yunnan, northern Laos, and northern Vietnam (Figs. 4, 5b). This zone corresponds to the northern edge of tropical monsoon climate23. Highly divergent sarbecoviruses of the two main lineages SCoVrCs and SCoV2rCs are expected to be found in sympatry in this area. This is confirmed by the discovery of both SCoVrCs and SCoV2rCs in horseshoe bats collected in southern Yunnan1,6,21. Collectively, these data suggest that genomic recombination between viruses of the two divergent lineages are more likely to occur in bats roosting, at least seasonally, in the caves of these regions. Since highly recombinant viruses can threaten the benefit of vaccination campaigns, southern Yunnan, northern Laos, and northern Vietnam should be the targets of closer surveillance.