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)

Miley Cyrus attends the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., January 5, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Cole/Reuters)

Machu Picchu, Peru. A llama’s-eye view of the legendary Inca settlement at Machu Picchu, isolated high in the Peruvian Andes. (Photo by Jim Turner/National Geographic)

A man dressed as Santa Claus poses during a base flying event in downtown in Berlin December 6, 2014. Participants of the event hosted by entertainment agency Jochen Schweizer flew down 98 metres (322 ft.) from atop the hotel in the German capital. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

White-robed men hold up flaming torches during an annual fire festival at the World Heritage-listed Kumano Nachi Taisha shrine in the Wakayama Prefecture town of Nachikatsuura, western Japan on July 14, 2022. (Photo by Kyodo News/Newscom/Avalon)

Taking it all in at Trolltunga, a piece of rock which juts horizontally out of a mountain, 700 metres above lake Ringedalsvatnet in Norway. (Photo by Sam Rogers/GuardianWitness)

A robot Ecce by the Robot studio is pictured at the world's largest industrial technology fair, the Hannover Messe, in Hanover April 13, 2015. (Photo by Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)

A man holding a tray of belongings wades through a road at an area flooded by the Omoigawa river, caused by typhoon Etau in Oyama, Tochigi prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo September 10, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/Kyodo News)