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)

A man walks by as tourists take selfies on the French Riviera city of Nice on June 24, 2019, as temperatures soar to 33 degrees Celsius. Forecasters say Europeans will feel sizzling heat this week with temperatures soaring as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in an “unprecedented” June heatwave hitting much of Western Europe. (Photo by Valery Hache/AFP Photo)

Models of the “Altyr” fashion theatre, dressed in Khakas national costumes, get over a wooden fence during a photo session, as a part of the rehearsal for the Tun-Pairam traditional holiday (The Holiday of the First Milk) celebration at a museum preserve outside Kazanovka village near Abakan in the Republic of Khakassia, Russia, May 28, 2016. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Beachgoers pass a snowman made from sand on Christmas Day at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 25, 2023. (Photo by David Gray/AFP Photo)

A spooky sight to behold! This is what a psychiatric hospital that has been abandoned for years looks like. Complete with bowling alley and a theater, the hospital shows just how much nature has weathered it over time as paint peels from the walls and the mattress gather dust. Here: This area of the hospital was last used as a day care center in the early 2000s. (Photo by Will Ellis/Caters News)

Travel concept: commercial airplane flying with beautiful charming stewardess on September 12, 2019. (Photo by Volodymyr Tverdokhlib/Alamy Stock Photo)

“The Curiosity Mars rover has imaged a small metallic-looking protuberance on a rock. Visible (in the image below the green lines point to it), the protuberance appears to have a high albedo and even projects a shadow on the rock below...”

Run by the Society of German Nature Photographers (Gesellschaft Deutscher Tierfotografen), the prestigious annual contest celebrates the best wildlife photography from members in Germany. Here: Landscapes, second place: Florian Smit, “Rainforest” (Danum valley, Borneo). (Photo by Florian Smit/2019 GDT Nature Photographer of the Year)