Tidal sorting of white sand and darker minerals into patterns at the west coast Talisker Bay beach, known as a white and black sand beach, an SSSI for its Tertiary basalt lava geology, Talisker Bay, Carbost, Skye, Inner Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe

Columnar structures, created during cooling of basalt lava, with an intrusion or dyke of darker rock in the foreground, near Bombo Beach, Kiama, south coast, New South Wales, Australia, Pacific

Eurasian river otter (Lutra lutra) mother and cub. Cubs often have darker fur than their mothers and for the first few months are much more 'buoyant' in the water. Hebrides, Scotland

View of the Ostankino TV tower from the Ostankinskiy Pond in Moscow, Russia

View of a lighted boat and fish in a canal in San Marco at night, Venice, Veneto, Italy, Europe

View of the business and residential center, Moscow-City from the bank of the Moscow River, Russia

Barefoot monks collect early morning food and drink alms (sai bat), Luang Prabang, Luang Prabang Province, Laos, Asia

Man walking in the forest in fog and rays of light ,monthshausen, Bavaria, Germany

Barefoot monks collect early morning food and drink alms (sai bat), Luang Prabang, Luang Prabang Province, Laos, Asia

Large, yellow Swedish house in deep winter, Dorotea, Västerbottens Län, Sweden

Winter sunset at the North Sea, Dorum, Lower Saxony, Germany

View of the lighthouse - memorial to the deceased sailors in Murmansk, Russia

View of the lighthouse - memorial to the deceased sailors in Murmansk, Russia

Icebergs, the darker ones coloured by volcanic ash, Joekulsarlon glacial lake, southern coast of Iceland, Atlantic Ocean

Eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) perched on a branch and watching. A case of melanism. This squirrel is a grey squirrel with a defective pigment gene given by the fox squirrel (Sciurus niger), which makes the colour of its fur darker. Mauricie region. Quebec. Canada