I'm new to looking at getting the ATP license, and looking toward the regionals, did some searching here but couldn't really find the answer I'm looking for.

CFR 61.159 says you need 500 hours of cross country ((1) 500 hours of cross-country flight time). But in other articles I read, they say 200 hours of cross country to qualify. I assume CFR 61.159 is correct, but why the discrepancy in what hours are required?

Does it have to do with being and SIC for a regional as opposed to a captain?

Thanks for your help.