No, this photo doesn't portray one of the new creatures on or an outtake from a horror movie. It's an award-winning close-up photo of ... an ant.
The eye-popping photo is one of 57 Images of Distinction in Nikon's The terrifying portrait was captured by Eugenijus Kavaliauskas, a Lithuanian photographer.
This is the 48th year of the competition, which seeks to "recognize excellence in photography through the microscope," according to a news release shared with CNN.
The 2022 contest received almost 1,300 entries from 72 countries, according to Nikon.
Kavaliauskas previously worked as a bird photographer before pivoting to insects, He used reflected light to capture the shocking ant close-up, complete with what seems to be an angry expression.
Although the image received a viral welcome on the internet, Kavaliauskas didn't receive the top prize in the competition. That honor went to Swedish photographers Grigorii Timin and Michel Milinkovitch, who produced of the front paw of a Madagascar giant day gecko's embryo. They used 63x magnification to document the hand's tiny veins and bones.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly described the ant's face.
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