i want a small 1 min. speech as i want to contest for the school prefect post in my school. a short one. plz my friends help.

iN WHICH TOPIC?

Dinosaursare a diverse group of animals of thecladeDinosauria. They first appeared during theTriassicperiod, 231.4million years ago, and were the dominant terrestrialvertebratesfor 135million years, from the beginning of theJurassic(about 201million years ago) until the end of theCretaceous(66million years ago), when theCretaceousPaleogene extinction eventled to the extinction of most dinosaur groups at the close of theMesozoic Era. Thefossilrecord indicates thatbirdsevolved fromtheropoddinosaurs during the Jurassic Period and, consequently, they are considered a subgroup of dinosaurs by many paleontologists.^[1]Some birds survived the extinction event that occurred 66 million years ago, and their descendants continue the dinosaur lineage to the present day.^[2]

Dinosaurs are a varied group of animals from taxonomic, morphological and ecological standpoints. Birds, at over 10,000 living species,^[3]are the most diverse group of vertebrates besidesperciformfish.^[4]Using fossil evidence,paleontologistshave identified over 500 distinctgenera^[5]and more than 1,000 different species of non-avian dinosaurs.^[6]Dinosaurs are represented on every continent by bothextantspecies and fossil remains.^[7]Some are herbivorous, others carnivorous. While dinosaurs were ancestrallybipedal, many extinct groups includedquadrupedalspecies, and some were able to shift between these stances. Elaborate display structures such as horns or crests are common to all dinosaur groups, and some extinct groups developed skeletal modifications such asbony armorandspines. Evidence suggests that egg laying and nest building are additional traits shared by all dinosaurs. While modern birds are generally small due to the constraints of flight, many prehistoric dinosaurs were large-bodied—the largestsauropoddinosaurs may have achieved lengths of 58 meters (190 feet) and heights of 9.25 meters (30 feet 4 inches).^[8]Still, the idea that non-avian dinosaurs were uniformly gigantic is a misconception based on preservation bias, as large, sturdy bones are more likely to last until they are fossilized. Many dinosaurs were quite small:Xixianykus, for example, was only about 50cm (20in) long.

Although the word dinosaur means "terrible lizard", the name is somewhat misleading, as dinosaurs are notlizards. Instead, they represent a separate group ofreptileswhich, like many extinct forms, did not exhibit characteristics traditionally seen as reptilian, such as asprawling limb postureorectothermy. Additionally, many prehistoric animals, includingmosasaurs,ichthyosaurs, pterosaurs,plesiosaurs, andDimetrodon, are popularly conceived of as dinosaurs, but are not classified as dinosaurs. Through the first half of the 20th century, before birds were recognized to be dinosaurs, most of the scientific community believed dinosaurs to have been sluggish andcold-blooded. Mostresearch conducted since the 1970s, however, has indicated that all dinosaurs were active animals with elevatedmetabolismsand numerous adaptations for social interaction.

Since the first dinosaurfossilswere recognized in the early 19th century, mounted fossil dinosaur skeletons have been major attractions at museums around the world, and dinosaurs have become an enduring part of world culture. The large sizes of some groups, as well as their seemingly monstrous and fantastic nature, have ensured dinosaurs' regular appearance in best-selling books and films, such asJurassic Park. Persistent public enthusiasm for the animals has resulted in significant funding for dinosaur science, and new discoveries are regularly covered by the media.