A peformance artist attends an election rally for Cameroon presidential candidate for the opposition Univers party, Cabral Libii in Yaounde, Cameroon 06 October 2018. Africa's oldest president Paul Biya who has been in power since 1982 is up against eight candidates when voters go to the polls 07 October 2018. 6.9 million registered voters will head to the polls but marginalised anglophone separatists in the North West and South West of the country threaten to disrupt the elections. (Photo by Nic Bothma/EPA/EFE)

Birds sit on the back of a zebra in the Nairobi National Park, near Nairobi, Kenya, November 21, 2018. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)

A man selling bags of water is seen at a taxi parking bay lined with campaign posters in the district of Lingwala in Kinshasa on December 18, 2018. Democratic Republic of Congo goes to the polls on December 23, 2018 in elections which could see the country emerge from 17 years of conflict-ridden rule under controversial President Joseph Kabila. (Photo by John Wessels/AFP Photo)

Mini-pigs perform during the presentation in Balashikha, Russia on December 19, 2018. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

A Palestinian man argues with an Israeli soldier during clashes over an Israeli order to shut down a Palestinian school near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, October 15, 2018. (Photo by Mohamad Torokman/Reuters)

Freida Pinto as Jas Mitra in Showtime's “Guerrilla”, 2016. (Photo by Sky UK Limited/SHOWTIME)

A man waits with his camel to take part in a camel decoration competition at the Nagaur Cattle Fair, where animals like camels, cows, horses, and bulls are brought to be sold or traded, in Nagaur, in the desert state of Rajasthan, India February 2, 2017. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/Reuters)

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)