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)

Buddy Mae Walker (R), 4, looks at herself in the mirror while trying on a child respirator provided by the non-profit TeamRaccoonPDX on October 6, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. We told them their grandparents sent them space suits to keep them safe, Jessica Walker said of the respirators, which the family sought out after police used tear gas near their residential street. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

A girls’ Friday night out on the town, in Bristol, England, 2009. As in most big cities in the UK, around the weekend you see women with very minimal clothing on, wandering around regardless of the temperature. (Photo by Martin Parr/Magnum Photos)

A man rides his loaded tricycle next to three schoolgirls in Shanghai on December 11, 2015. (Photo by Johannes Eisele/AFP Photo)

A mahout sits between elephants which are participating in festivities marking the annual harvest festival of Onam at a temple on the outskirts of Kochi, India, September 11, 2019. (Photo by Sivaram V/Reuters)

Dozens of hot air balloons fill the sky on the second day of the 2024 International Balloon Festival (FIG) in Leon, Mexico, 16 November 2024. (Photo by Luis Ramirez/EPA)

A family tries to cross a flooded road amid gushing water in Kolkata, India on August 17, 2019. Heavy rain continues for a second day in Kolkata, which contuinued to flood many streets all around the city. Authorities are working overtime to clear the roads. (Photo by Debarchan Chatterjee/Zuma Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A Kenyan soldier takes cover as shots are fired in front of Garissa University in Garissa town, located near the border with Somalia, some 370km northeast of the capital Nairobi, Kenya, 02 April 2015. At least 15 people have been killed and some 60 were injured in an attack carried out by Somalia's Islamist militant group al-Shabab, according to local media reports. (Photo by Dai Kurokawa/EPA)