Stephen Dalton / Brown rat {Rattus norvegicus} backlit, night, controlled conditions, UK

Peter Cairns / Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) pair in winter plumage, Cairngorms NP, Grampian Mountains, Scotland, UK, February.

Mark Bowler / Isula / Bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) close-up showing mandibles, Peru

Tony Heald / Hippopotamus at water surface. Kruger NP, South Africa

Edwin Giesbers / Eastern green mamba {Dendroaspis angusticeps} strike pose, captive, from East Africa

Ann & Steve Toon / Roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) with young offspring, Mlilwane nature reserve breeding programme, Swaziland, Southern Africa

Michel Poinsignon / Wind turbine with oil seed rape flowers in the foreground, Sarre, Germany

Mark Bowler / Line of Leaf-cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying leaves, digital composite

David Noton / Autumn colours of the Aspen trees (Populus tremula) in the snow, near Muleshoe, Bow Valley Parkway, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. October 2009

Ian McCarthy / Wandering albatross {Diomedea exulans} flying over open ocean, South Atlantic

Patricio Robles Gil / Common peafowl {Pavo cristatus} silhouetted male peacock perched in tree in early morning mist, Royal Chitwan NP, Nepal

Edwin Giesbers / Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta / Endymion scriptum) flowering in Beech wood, Hallerbos, Belgium, April