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)

Hanging bird cages are displayed on poles during a bird-singing contest in the Rueso district in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat on March 23, 2014. Hundreds of bird owners from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore took part in the traditional contest held every year. (Photo by Madaree Tohlala/AFP Photo)

An oversized, prehistoric praying mantis wreaks havoc in a freeway underpass as it overturns cars and trucks, in a film still from “The Deadly Mantis”, directed by Nathan Juran, 1957. (Photo by Universal Pictures/Courtesy of Getty Images)

TikTok chef Abir El Saghir prepares a pastry dish at her kitchen in Jeb Jennin, west Bekaa, Lebanon on June 30, 2022. (Photo by Issam Abdallah/Reuters)

Kamaz' Russia driver Andrey Karginov, co-driver Andrey Mokeev and Igor Lenonov compete during the Stage 6 of the Dakar 2020 between Ha'il and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 10, 2020. (Photo by Franck Fife/AFP Photo)

People stand in the rain as they wait to enter the Martyrs' Mausoleum during a ceremony for Martyrs' Day in Yangon on July 19, 2020. Myanmar observed the 73rd anniversary of Martyrs' Day on July 19, marking the assassination of independence heroes including Aung San Suu Kyi's father, who helped end British colonial rule. (Photo by Sai Aung Main/AFP Photo)

In this February 27, 1984, file photo, singer Placido Domingo laughs with members of the Rockettes at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The singer and dancers met while rehearsing for Channel Thirteen's “Gala of Stars 1984”. Nine women in the opera world have told The Associated Press that they were sexually harassed by Domingo, one of the most celebrated and powerful men in opera. The women say the encounters took place over three decades, at venues that included opera companies where he held top managerial positions. (Photo by Steve Friedman/AP Photo/File)