Emerging paramyxoviruses from fruit bats in spill-over hosts have regularly been associated with ecosystem and land-use changes resulting in an increased overlap of bats, domestic animals, and human ecologies and thereby increased opportunities for bat-borne zoonotic diseases to emerge [35] . As demonstrated in this study, paramyxoviruses basally related to Henipaviruses also exist in geographic areas distant to the distribution range of fruit bats, the suspected natural hosts for Henipaviruses, indicating a possible virus-host co-evolution beyond this animal group. Since infected bats were found in close proximity to heavily populated human habitations as well as intensive agricultural use, a potential risk for the emergence of zoonotic paramyxoviruses in Europe should be further elucidated. Although the three novel paramyxoviruses detected in three distinct European bat species cannot be readily assigned to any previously described paramyxovirus genus, they are associated to two very distinct genera (Rubulavirus and Jeilongvirus) [22] , indicating a similarly broad genetic diversity among paramyxoviruses in insectivorous bats compared to fruit bats. Given the much larger diversity amongst insectivorous bats with over 1,000 bat species in contrast to 186 fruit bat species [36] , we predict a far higher diversity of paramyxoviruses in insectivorous bats. Extensive phylogenetic studies of insectivorous bat-born paramyxoviruses will provide further insight into the suggested co-evolution of paramyxoviruses and bats [35] . In addition to Africa, Australia, South America, and Asia, the detection of novel paramyxoviruses in European bats extends the possible geographic overlap with other susceptible spill-over hosts.