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)

Portraits single nominee: Dakar fashion, by Finbarr O’Reilly. Curious residents and a street vendor selling material look on as models Diarra Ndiaye, Ndeye Fatou Mbaye and Malezi Sakho wear outfits by the Senegalese designer Adama Paris in the Medina neighbourhood of Senegal’s capital, Dakar. (Photo by Finbarr O’Reilly/World Press Photo 2019)

Sеxy woman in lace eye cover and red lips with young lover, foreplay in hotel room. (Photo by sakkmesterke/Getty Images)

A bar girl shows off her sexual desires along the Walking Street where bars and sеx scenes are a commonplace July 31, 2016 in Pattaya, Thailand. Thailand's first female minister of tourism would like the sеx trade that is a huge business in the country to be banned. Tourists flock to Thailand for many sights including beautiful beaches but also for sеx tourism. Cities like Bangkok and Pattaya are well known as hubs of the Southeast Asian sеx trade, despite the fact that prostitution has been illegal in Thailand since 1960. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

A street in the Cuban capital, Havana, is home to 12 sets of twins, ranging from toddlers to senior citizens. Some say it could be something in the water. Others point to a tree with mystical significance for locals. And maybe it's just chance. Photo: In this September 29, 2013 photo, nine-year-old twin sisters Camila, left, and Carla Rodriguez pose for a portrait along their street in Havana, Cuba. 12 sets of twins live along two consecutive blocks in western Havana, ranging in age from newborns to senior citizens. “We love living on this block because we have twin friends”, said Carla. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

Border Security Force (BSF) personnel patrol along the border fence during a cold foggy morning near India-Pakistan Wagah border about 40km from Amritsar on December 21, 2022. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

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)

A woman reacts after performing Otonamaki, which translates as “adult wrapping”, a new form of therapy where people are wrapped in large swaddling cloth to alleviate posture problems and stiffness, at a session in Asaka, Saitama prefecture, Japan, February 4, 2017. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)