Amazing animal photos you can’t miss in the the Royal Society Publishing Photo Competition

BUTTERFLIES gathering on the head of an Amazonian reptile is just one of the stunning images captured for a global photo competition.

A griffon vulture photographed for the Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition. Picture: Jonathan Diaz-Marba

A HUNGRY griffon vulture seen from the inside of the rib cage of a large mammal is just one of the many stunning images captured for the second annual Royal Society Publishing Photo Competition.

The vulture was captured by Jonathan Diaz-Marba in Spain, after he tried his luck using his camera inside the carcass, shooting from a hide with the help of a trigger wire 20 metres long.

Other incredibly up-close images that have been short-listed for the competition include a swarm of jellyfish in the UK, an eagle ray swimming over a reef with its prey in the Caribbean and colourful butterflies gathering on the head of a caiman reptile in the Amazon to collect salt for their survival.

Colourful butterflies gather on the head of this caiman to collect salt in Peru. This photo was taken for the for the Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition Picture: Mark Cowan

Another image depicts one of Japan’s macaques, the most northern-living, non-human primates who survive in the coldest conditions.

A ghostly image of luminescent mayflies against the night sky won first place in the competition, which celebrates the power of photography to communicate science and shows the beautiful images encountered while studying the world around us.

The winning shot, by Imre Potyó, shows the final courtship dance of short-lived adult Danube mayflies on the bank of the Rába River in Hungary.

All the winning photos and runners-up will be on display at a free exhibition at the Royal Society on September 17 and 18 during the Open House London weekend.

For more information, go here.

2016 Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition

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