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)

People take part in the Million Mask March anti-establishment protest at Trafalgar Square in London on November 5, 2020, on the first day of a four week national lockdown for England. (Photo by Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images)

Performers of Everland Amusement Park present the part of Christmas Fantasy in downtown of Myundong in Seoul, South Korea on December 3, 2019. (Photo by Seokyong Lee/Penta Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A Secret Service police officer wrestles a protester to the ground after she ran towards a motorcade on its way to the LA Convention Center where North and South American leaders are gathered for the ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, June 8, 2022. (Photo by Apu Gomes/AFP Photo)

Girls sits on a bench during summer at the Central Park in New York, United States, 2011. (Photo by An Rong Xu)

American actor and musician Jared Leto climbs The Empire State Building on November 08, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust)

Nature, singles winner: Frogs with their legs severed struggle to the surface, surrounded by frogspawn, after being thrown back into the water in Covasna, Romania. (Photo by Bence Mate/World Press Photo 2019)

This photograph, taken in Cognocoli-Monticchi on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica on November 14, 2023 shows lenticular clouds above Corsican mountains. (Photo by Pascal Pochard-Casabianca/AFP Photo)