Michael D. Kern / Kaleidoscope pattern formed from picture of Greenbottle blue tarantula (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens) - see original image number 01482830 EMBARGOED FOR NAT GEO UNTIL the end of 2015

Magnus Lundgren / School of Yellow-ribbon sweetlips (Plectorhinchus polytaenia) swimming with the current, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean.

Bruce Thomson / Crucifix toad / Holy cross frog (Notaden bennetti) sitting in shallow water after heavy summer rain, Westmar, Queensland, Australia.

Henley Spiers / Striped marlin (Kajikia audax) striking a shoal of baitfish during the largest known seasonal aggregation of Marlin, Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Pacific Ocean. November 2019

Eduardo Blanco / Snow covered trees in the Sotos del Alfaro Natural Reserve, Alfaro, La Rioja province, Spain. January.

Theo Bosboom / Aerial view of one of the main lava flows at the eruption site of the Fagradalsfjall volcano, Iceland, 1 April 2021

Ross Hoddinott / Small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly (Boloria selene) roosting on Hard fern (Blechnum spicant) fiddlehead. Marsland Valley Wildlife Trusts Reserve, Cornwall, England, UK. June.

Andy Murch / Pyjama shark (Poroderma africanum), two in reef, amongst kelp. Simon's Town, Western Cape, South Africa. May.

Alex Mustard / School of Oriental sweetlips (Plectorhinchus vittatus) gather tightly together as they rest during the day, with a Clown triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum) and Midnight snappers (Macolor macularis...

Edwin Giesbers / Orange tip butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines) male resting in dappled light created by dew droplets. The Netherlands. April.

Edwin Giesbers / Small pearl bordered fritillary butterfly (Boloria selene) resting on stem. The Netherlands. August.

Tony Wu / Crab-eye goby (Signigobius biocellatus), mimics crab with eye-spot markings on dorsal fins and back and forth movement. Loloata Island, Papua New Guinea.

Carol Walker / RF - Knabstrupper stallion with leopard spotting colouration, running in pasture. Germany. May. (This image may be licensed either as rights managed or royalty free.)

Danny Green / Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) profile walking, looking for prey. Bandhavgarh National Park, India, December.

David Hall / Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) using a large,encrusted boulder as a tool to scratch itself against, Gowland Harbour, Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada. March.

Danny Green / Starling murmuration, hundreds of thousands of starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) gather in the skies near their night time roost. Gretna Green, Scotland, January. Black and White Category Winner, Wildlife...

Shane Gross / Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) swimming over sand ripples, Eleuthera, Bahamas.

Orsolya Haarberg / Aerial view of sporadically inhabited islands, Islets and skerries in a wide coastal plain. Husvaer, Helgeland Archipelago, Norway. July.

Alex Mustard / Light patterns on the seabed and fluffy cumulus clouds in the sky in a split level image. North Sound, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies. Caribbean Sea.

Milan Radisics / Crystallised patterns in an abandoned pond used for the disposal and stacking of phosphogypsum with shallow, but highly toxic radioactive green water in Huelva, Southern Spain. Phosphogypsum is a radi...

Milan Radisics / Service road crossing an abandoned pond used for the disposal and stacking of phosphogypsum with crystallised patterns and shallow, but highly toxic radioactive green water in Huelva, Southern Spain....

Milan Radisics / Service road crossing an abandoned pond used for the disposal and stacking of phosphogypsum with crystallised patterns and shallow, but highly toxic radioactive green water in Huelva, Southern Spain....

Jack Dykinga / Patterns in the tidal flats of the delta where the delta is swept by tidal encroachment from the Gulf of California. Evidence of the fresh water flow is observable as plant life turns green. Colorado...

Sergio Hanquet / Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus), three in pod, light patterns on backs. Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Ernie Janes / Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) two huddled together for warmth. Captive.

Piotr Naskrecki / Termite (Macrotermes mossambicus) winged individual on pile of wings shed by other termites, with winged male Carpenter ants (Camponotus). Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. Highly commended in the...

Alex Mustard / RF - Denise's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus denise) looks out from its home in a sea fan (Annella sp.). Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean. (This image...

Lucas Bustamante / Amazonian millipede with parasites. Sumaco National Park, Napo, Ecuador

Marie Read / Abstract patterns of reflected sky and clouds on the ocean with a silhouetted Red-faced cormorant (Phalarocorax urile) in flight, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, USA, July.

Marie Read / Horned Puffin (Fratercula corniculata) flying over a pattern of kelp and sea foam, photographed from above, St. Paul, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, USA. July.

Robert Valentic / Rough-scaled death adder (Acanthophis rugosus) waving tip of tail as a lure to entice prey within striking range. Mount Isa, Queensland Australia.

Theo Bosboom / Common limpets (Patella vulgata) hit by a big wave from the Atlantic ocean at the coast of Crohy head, Donegal, Ireland. November 2017

Theo Bosboom / Patterns on Carrickfinn beach with sand and water mixed with tannin dyed water from peat stream. Donegal, Ireland, November.

Theo Bosboom / Winter landscape at Luskentyre beach, Isle of Lewis, Scotland, North Harris in the background. February 2018.

Theo Bosboom / Patterns of algae on a limestone rock with sand, White sands beach, Causeway coast, Northern Ireland. April 2016.

Theo Bosboom / Star shaped sand pattern as photographed at low tide at Luskentyre beach, Lewis and Harris, Scotland, UK, October.

Theo Bosboom / Powerful waves rolling in at the Atlantic coast of Iceland near Dyrholey during a powerful winter storm. February 2016

Theo Bosboom / Aerial of patterns of receding waves, Playa del Silencio, Asturias, Spain. April 2018

Theo Bosboom / Sand patterns at sunrise, Praia da Adraga, Sintra, Portugal. December 2016

Theo Bosboom / Sand patterns created by receding waves, Quiberon, Brittany, France. August 2017

Franco Banfi / Striped marlin (Kajikia audax) hunting Sardine (Sardinops sagax) in bait ball. Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Franco Banfi / Striped marlin (Tetrapturus audax) feeding on Sardine (Sardinops sagax). Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Pacific Ocean, Mexico.

Nick Hawkins / Sergeant major (Abudefduf sp) schooling in mangroves of Isabela Island, Galapagos.

Paul Hobson / Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) preening, close up. Hungary. May.