NEW YORK, Dec 16 — A video depicting an eight-week-old starfish larva churning the water around its body as it searches for food has taken top prize in this year's Nikon Small World in Motion Photomicrography Competition.

Stamford University's William Gilpin told judges he was surprised that a common organism like a starfish could create this intricate pattern in the water.

Second place went to Charles Krebs' submission showing a predatory protozoan, a single-celled organism.

Screengrab from the Reuters video on winners of the Nikon Small World In Motion competition.

As it searches for prey the neck of this organism can extend up seven times its body length.

Third place was taken by freelance photographer Wim van Egmond for his timelapse video of the flowering of the Aspergillus niger, a mold that typically grows on different types of fruit.

The competition aims to highlight the latest techniques in scientific imaging, shedding light on the microscopic... and sometimes creepy world surrounding us

Among the runners up were Ralph Grimm's video showing blood circulation in the tail of a tadpole. Dr Robert Markus's detail of a faucet snail and Jan Rosenboom's close-up encounter with a German wasp. — Reuters