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)

An archer in a samurai warrior costume aims at a target in the Asakusa Yabusame horseback archery event at Sumida Park in Tokyo, Saturday, April 18, 2015. (Photo by Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Photo)

A view through mist shows the Kirk of Saint Mary Magdalene in Primorsk, Leningrad Region, Russia on March 24, 2019. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

A bucket of water is splashed on a woman during the Songkran water festival to celebrate the Thai New Year, in Prachinburi Province, Thailand, April 13, 2024. (Photo by Wason Wanichakorn/AP Photo)

Dancers prepare before a performance in the backstage area of the Buick exhibition during the “Auto China 2014” Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in Beijing on April 21, 2014. Leading automakers have gathered in Beijing for the kickoff of China's biggest car show, but lackluster growth and environmental restrictions in the world's largest car market have thrown uncertainty into the mix. (Photo by AFP Photo)

Members of a newly-formed “Siberian Battalion” within the Ukrainian Armed Forces take part in a military training exercise outside Kyiv on October 24, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A newly formed “Siberian Battalion” as part of the International Legion within the Ukrainian Armed Forces is made up of Russians who have come to fight against their fellow citizens. They were a varied group-both ethnic Russians with long-standing opposition views and members of minority ethnic groups. (Photo by Genya Savilov/AFP Photo)

A Ukrainian soldier smiles in front of a city sign reading ''I Love Izium'' in Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, September 14, 2022. Ukrainian troops piled pressure on retreating Russian forces pressing deeper into occupied territory and sending more Kremlin troops fleeing ahead of the counteroffensive that has inflicted a stunning blow on Moscow's military prestige. (Photo by Kostiantyn Liberov/AP Photo)

This Monday, September 15, 2014 photo shows glazed bricks displayed at the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad. The Islamic State militants seek to purge society of all influences that don't conform with their strict, puritanical version of Islam. That means destroying not only relics seen as pagan but also Muslim sites they see as contradicting their ideology, particularly Sunni Muslim shrines they see as idolatrous as well as mosques used by Shiites, a branch of Islam they consider heretical. (Photo by Hadi Mizban/AP Photo)