Is it a leaf? Is it tree bark? No, it’s the Satanic leaf-tailed gecko. Cleverly disguised as a rotting leaf, Madagascar’s camouflage king has red eyes, pointy horns and a taste for night hunting: it’s nature’s most devilish deceiver. The twisted body and veiny skin echo the detail of a dry leaf, which ensures the gecko blends in with its forest home. The mottled tail appears to have sections missing, as though it has withered over time. This mini-monster epitomises survival of the fittest, having adapted gradually to become today’s extraordinary leaf impersonator. (Photo by Thomas Marent/ARDEA)

Aerial photo taken on April 20, 2018 shows the view of advection fog above Qingdao, a coastal city in east China' s Shandong Province. (Photo by Lu Hui/Xinhua News Agency/Eyevine)

A couple shares a kiss as they celebrate New Year's Eve in central Istanbul's Taksim Square, in Istanbul, Monday, January 1, 2024. (Photo by Emrah Gurel/AP Photo)

A hot air balloon competition called “Grudziadzkie Zawody Balonowe” is held in Lisie Katy, central-northern Poland, 14 May 2021. The compe​tition is held for the eighteenth time. (Photo by Tytus Zmijewski/EPA/EFE)

This month’s selection of travel imagery mixes quiet moments and superlative views. The overall 2018 prize is a West Greenland trip with Wild Photography Holidays. Here: “This was taken on a safari in Kruger national park, South Africa. The scene was like something straight out of a storybook: a wild baboon, impala and elephant crossing the road together, all lined up neatly in a row”. (Photo by Will Clarke/The Guardian)

Undated handout photo of members of Ballet Ireland during a photocall on Edinburgh's Calton Hill before taking part in the Edinburgh Festival 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Issue date: Tuesday, August 7, 2018. (Photo by Julie Howden/Culture Ireland/PA Wire)

Shortlisted: Sólheimasandur aircraft crash site, Iceland by Ollie Conway. (Photo by Ollie Conway/Historic Photographer of the Year Awards 2019/The Guardian)

A balloon takes part in the 43rd International Hot Air Balloon Festival in Chateau-d'Oex, Switzerland on January 24, 2023. (Photo by Denis Balibouse/Reuters)