With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

A macaque climbs on a visitor at Phra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi, Thailand on February 25, 2024. Although the thousands of macaques living in town are a tourists' attraction, many complain that they harass residents and damage houses and businesses while deterring potential visitors. (Photo by Valeria Mongelli/Anadolu via Getty Images)

(L-R) Chris Diamantopoulos, AnnaLynne McCord, Matt Jones and Jane Seymour visit the Build Series at Build Studio on January 23, 2018 in New York City, United States. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images)

A police officer sings as a hearse drives along a street as part of a campaign sponsored by the Colombian police and a funerary home to raise awareness during the new coronavirus pandemic in Envigado, Antioquia, Colombia, on April 1, 2020. More than 20,000 cases of COVID-19 were registered in Latin America and the Caribbean by Wednesday, according to an AFP tally using information provided by national health authorities and the World Health Organization. (Photo by Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP Photo)

American actress Jayne Mansfield (1933 - 1967), a model before she became an actress, she won several beauty contests including the title of "Miss Magnesium Lamp".

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his wife Ri Sol Ju and Song Tao, head of the International Department of Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, applaud with ballet dancers in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang April 17, 2018. (Photo by Reuters/KCNA)

A Taliban fighter walks past a beauty salon with images of women defaced using spray paint in Shar-e-Naw in Kabul on August 18, 2021. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP Photo)

A volunteer holds the peak of a flamingo chick after it was fitted with an identity ring at a lagoon in the Fuente de Piedra natural reserve near Malaga, southern Spain, July 30, 2022. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)