A marine photographer, Laurent Ballesta, has won the grand title in a prestigious competition called Wildlife Photographer of the Year organized by the Natural History Museum in London with a photo showing a golden horseshoe crab, an ancient and endangered species.

The prize-winning photo, which he shot near Pangatalan Island in the Philippines, shows a tri-spine horseshoe crab with three golden trevallies swimming together in water as they eat, mate, and offer shelter to other animals. The image of Laurent Ballesta was chosen from almost 50,000 entries from more than 95 countries and deemed by jury chair Kathy Moran as "luminescent".

While they are referred to as crabs, horseshoe crabs are actually more closely related to spiders and scorpions. They've thrived for 100 million years, cohabiting with dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex. But today they are becoming extinct with overfishing, habitat loss, and ocean pollution. Their blue blood is important in manufacturing vaccines and detecting bacterial contamination. The horseshoe crab is also used as bait for other species, and this continues to contribute to their reduction.

Seventeen-year-old Carmel Bechler took the young title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year after she filmed with long-exposure two barn owls in an abandoned roadside structure. Bechler's photo is a powerful commentary on habitat destruction and adaptation in the natural world. The winning pictures and all category winners will be displayed at the Natural History Museum starting Friday, highlighting both our planet's natural beauty and its need for preservation.