Spain's Oscar Husillos (R) passes the baton to Spain's Eva Santidrian (L) in the mixed 4x400m relay heats during the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on July 15, 2022. (Photo by Andrej Isakovic/AFP Photo)

A boy takes his basset hound for a walk with a difference in Noosa, Australia on Saturday, March 9, 2024, during the annual Surf Dog Championships. (Photo by Roberta Holden/Solent News)

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 cow covered with foam scavenges in the waste left on the banks of the polluted Yamuna river in New Delhi on October 10, 2020. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)

British puffin mid-flight with a beak full of small fish, their favourite foods being sand eels, herring and hake in Farne Islands, United Kingdom in June 2022. These pint-sized creatures are just 12 inches in height and have a wingspan of 25 inches. (Photo by Mathijs van Lisdonk/Media Drum Images)

Australia's State Emergency Service (SES) personnel gather at the scene of a light plane crash near the Capital Golf Course, in Melbourne, Australia, 22 June 2021. A pilot was injured and rushed to hospital after his light plane crashed shortly after taking off from Moorabbin Airport. (Photo by James Ross/EPA/EFE)

Bryan Adams took the pictures for next year’s Pirelli calendar, which features fellow musicians including Cher, Rita Ora, Iggy Pop and the American rapper Saweetie, above, as it depicts a typical day in the life of a touring performer. (Photo by Bryan Adams/Pirelli)

A pedestrian wearing a face mask to protect against coronavirus, walks in front of a mural, at a metro station in Athens, Greece, Monday, November 15, 2021. Authorities say the rate of death related to COVID-19 in Greece has reached its highest level in six months as roughly one-third of the country's population remains unvaccinated. (Photo by Thanassis Stavrakis/AP Photo)