Open Paleo

Beg

Yu et al., 2020 beg

Named after Beg-tse, a Himalayan deity and god of war in Mongolian culture, whose rugose appearance echoes the preserved skull.

113.2–93.9 million years ago Albian–Cenomanian, Early Cretaceous–Late Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous stages

Beg is a genus of neoceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Ulaanoosh Formation of Mongolia. The type and only species is Beg tse, described in 2020.

Diagnosis

  1. 'L-shaped' lacrimal with anterior and posterior rami of nearly equal length, unlike other basal neoceratopsians that lack the anterior ramus.
  2. Small foramen on medial surface of anterior third of jugal anterior ramus, near contact with maxilla.
  3. Premaxilla with four enlarged cylindrical premaxillary teeth, unique among ceratopsians (others have three or fewer).
  4. Five equally spaced tubercles on lateral surface of surangular lateral ridge, not observed in any other ceratopsian or dinosaur.
  5. Large deep pit (groove) on ventral exposure of jugal, opening anteriorly at posterior corner of antorbital fossa, absent in other ceratopsians.

Species

Beg tse Yu et al., 2020

Type species

Part of the compound name 'Beg tse', honoring Beg-tse, a Mongolian war deity often depicted with a rugose face similar in appearance to the preserved skull of the dinosaur.

Holotype
IGM 100/3652 , Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Material
Partial skeleton including articulated partial skull; left side nearly complete, lacking rostral, postorbital, squamosal, and most of parietal; postcranials include rib, partial left scapula, proximal right ischium, and unidentifiable fragments.
Horizon
upper Ulaanoosh Formation, Albian–Cenomanian, Early Cretaceous–Late Cretaceous , 113.2–93.9 million years ago
Locality
Ömnögovi, Mongolia Yu and colleagues (2020) find the matrix "similar to sediments of the lowest upper member of Ulaanoosh Formation".

References

  1. Yu, C.; Prieto-Márquez, A.; Chinzorig, T.; Badamkhatan, Z.; Norell, M. (2020). A neoceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia and the early evolution of Ceratopsia. Communications Biology 3: 499:1-8. doi:10.1038/s42003-020-01222-7 yu2020a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Ornithischians. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length estimate.

    jones2026a