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)

Police detain a protester during a demonstration against the recent gang-rape of a woman in a moving car, according to local media, in Kolkata, India May 31, 2016. A woman was kidnapped and gang-raped by at least four men on May 29 in the Salt Lake area of the city and is currently being treated in hopsital, local media reported. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

A gorilla cube named Pepe eats frozen fruit to fight high temperatures at the Bioparc zoo in Valencia, eastern Spain, 28 June 2019. Spanish peninsula is suffering a heat wave with temperatures reaching up to 45 degrees. (Photo by Kai Foersterling/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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)

Austrian artist Erwin Wurm on Thursday, June 8, 2023 with his work Truck II, 2011, as he presents first UK museum exhibition and his largest show to date featuring over 100 works indoors and in the landscape at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)

Woman enjoying the sun on one of Maui's black sand beaches, Hawaii, United States of America, North America on February 25, 2022. (Photo by Laura Grier/Robert Harding RF via AFP Photo)

Policewomen take a picture inside a tunnel under the Chao Phraya river at a Mass Rapid Transit subway station in Bangkok, Thailand, December 14, 2015. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

A man cuts dog meat at a dog meat restaurant ahead of local dog meat festival in Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China on June 21, 2018. The festival in the southwestern town of Yulin has long drawn international criticism, with thousands of dogs traditionally being killed during the event. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)