Looking for love by Tony Wu, USA. Highly commended, Animal Portraits. “Accentuating his mature appearance with pastel colours, protruding lips and an outstanding pink forehead, this Asian sheepshead wrasse sets out to impress females and see off rivals, which he will head-butt and bite, near Japan’s remote Sado Island. Individuals start out as females, and when they reach a certain age and size – up to a metre (more than 3 feet) long – can transform into males. Long-lived and slow-growing, the species is intrinsically vulnerable to overfishing”. (Photo by Tony Wu/2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Shortlisted images in the running to be crowned Photobox Instagram photograph of the year range from furry friends to the Holi festival to the meaning of love. Judges, including the Guardian’s former picture editor Eamonn McCabe, have whittled down 180,000 submissions to unearth a shortlist that celebrates the best of social media. Winners will be announced October 3, 2018. Here: Najac, France. Travel shortlist. (Photo by Aaron Jenkin/@aaronjenkin)

Aurorae category runner-up: Lone Tree under a Scandinavian Aurora by Tom Archer (UK). The photographer decided to explore the area around the hotel on a very crisp -35C evening in Finnish Lapland. When he found this tree, he decided to wait for the misty conditions to change and could not believe his luck when the sky cleared and the aurora came out in the perfect spot. Archer spent about an hour photographing it before his camera started to lock up because of the harsh conditions, but by then he was happy to call it a night. (Photo by Tom Archer/2020 Astronomy Photographer of the Year)

A mysterious sea creature with some frighteningly sharp teeth washed up on a beach in England last week, where David Mackland snapped these photos. A Grind TV story reports that Mackland estimated the creature to be about 4-5 feet in length. (Photo by David Mackland/OurCarnoustie)

“Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the river. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter (dissolved by King Henry VIII)”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A general view of Gloucester Cathedral is seen on March 22, 2012 in Gloucester, England. With only a few months to go until the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic games, Britain's tourist industry is hoping to benefit from the influx of athletes, officials and visitors. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Gorgeous galaxies and stunning stars make up this selection of pictures from the shortlisted entries for this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. The winners will be announced on 15 September, and an exhibition of the winning images will be will be displayed in a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Centre from 17 September. Here: “Seven Magic Points”. The rusty red swirls of the circular, iron sculpture Seven Magic Points in Brattebergan, Norway mirror the rippling aurora above. (Photo by Rune Engebø/Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016/National Maritime Museum)

Shortlisted. Dragonfly, North York Moors national park, by Jonathan Green: “In June I was at May Beck with some colleagues when someone spotted this Hawker perched in a gorse bush. I love the detail on the wings, and it’s rare to be able to get so much of such a small subject in clear focus. Getting a few scratches was worth it”. (Photo by Jonathan Green/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)

Yala national park, Sri Lanka. Category: Action. “The daylight was fading and I was scanning the bush for a leopard. Then, I saw this garden lizard and a common bronzeback snake in the road. When the snake struck, the lizard performed amazing acrobatics to avoid it. The snake didn’t enjoy the extra attention from the crowd of jeeps. The distraction gave the lizard the chance to live another day”. (Photo by Sajith Buddikha Withanage/National Geographic Traveller UK)