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)

Statuettes in various forms of the lost-wax casting process are seen, including the wax figure, wax mold, shell mold, and patina coated statute of “The Actor” during a media event on the production of the statuettes for the 21th annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards at American Fine Arts Foundry in Burbank, California January 13, 2015. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters)

People stand by a damaged car at a train station at a makeshift camp for migrants and refugees at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, Greece, May 10, 2016. (Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters)

Festival-goers take photo inside of Spectra, a seven-story spiral walkway up to a viewing deck, at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 17, 2022. (Photo by Valerie Macon/AFP Photo)

People inspect a dead whale on the coast of Baracoa, Artemisa province, Cuba, Thursday, October 3, 2024. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

The “Sarandi” stream, dyed red due to unknown contaminants allege residents, flows into the Río de la Plata on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 6, 2025. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

Robbie Lee of Team Great Britain competes in the Men's 10m Platform Preliminaries on day 23 of the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships at OCBC Aquatic Centre on August 02, 2025 in Singapore. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

In this photo taken on Saturday, May 16, 2015, Snoek fish with salt on them after they were cleaned in Lambert's Bay, South Africa. The boats line up along the jetty, bobbing in the cold south Atlantic waters, bringing in the day's catch in the early afternoon. The long silver snoek fish is one of South Africa's traditional foods, and a main source of income for the town of Lambert's Bay. (Photo by Schalk van Zuydam/AP Photo)