Figurative lanterns for Lunar New Year hang over a road to mark the upcoming Year of the Ox in Singapore on January 19, 2021. (Photo by Roslan Rahman/AFP Photo)

Artists perform near a Soviet-era monument during celebration of Maslenitsa, also known as Pancake Week, which is a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, in Yevpatoriya, Crimea on March 14, 2021. (Photo by Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters)

Local residents walk past tiger paintings, that marks the upcoming Lunar New Year of the tiger, in front of a department store in Taipei on January 27, 2022. (Photo by Sam Yeh/AFP Photo)

Folk dancers perform a traditional “Chhou” dance during the celebrations to mark India's 75th Independence Day at the Red Road in Kolkata on August 15, 2022. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)

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)

Residents make decorations mosque-shaped lamps to enliven the holy month of Ramadan in Pekanbaru, Riau Province on April 28, 2022. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, during which devotees fast from dawn till dusk. (Photo by Afrianto Silalahi/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

People watch Russian heavy weapons at Tverskaya street during the rehearsal of the Victory Day parade in Moscow, Russia, 04 May 2022. Victory Day is held annually on 09 May and marks the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)

Animal rights activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) stage a “die-in” to mark World Vegan Day in Piccadilly Circus in London, Monday, November 1, 2021. The demonstration sought to draw attention to the suffering and death of animals in the meat, egg and dairy industries. (Photo by David Cliff/AP Photo)