MESMERISING FUNGI

With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet. These mesmorising pictures, however, capture the beautiful variety of fungi here on Earth. The incredible images were taken by Australian photographer Stephen Axford, 62, after he became familiar with the importance of fungi in everyday life, and decided to document it twelve years ago..

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FIREFLIES ILLUMINATE AN ENCHANTING FOREST IN TAIWAN

Like a scene from a fairytale, THOUSANDS of fireflies create an enchanting glow as they dance in a forest .

BIRD FISHING

DIVING down at a speed of 75mph, this is the moment a hungry osprey caught his prey .

VENOM MAN

AN UNEMPLOYED factory worker has proved his immunity to snake venom by letting a deadly mamba bite his bare arm .

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE BUG KIND

THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .

POOCHES POSE IN THEIR ELABORATE HEADSCARF COLLECTION

WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .

ON A WINGSUIT AND A PRAYER - FASTEST FLYING WOMAN IN THE WORLD

SOARING at 112 miles per hour through the air, this petite blonde certainly lives up to her title as the fastest flying woman in the world .

FOSTER FAMILY FACE LOSING THEIR HOME AFTER SIGNING UP TO GOVT HOMES SCHEME

A family of foster carers are facing bankruptcy and homelessness after they signed up to a Government scheme to renovate their house to be used for disabled children's short breaks .

RECORD BREAKING WATERMELON

AN American accountant has grown the world's biggest MELON and smashed his way into the record books with his mammoth 350 .

SWALLOW WHOLE - YOUNG BIRD ENJOYS DINNER TIME

PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner .

THE END OF THE WORLD CINEMA

SITTING in the middle of a vast desert, an abandoned cinema is still waiting for its first movie to be screened .

GRAND PRIX-INSPIRED ESPRESSO MACHINE

This may look like a monster car engine that will leave petrol heads in a spin, but it is in fact a rather snazzy looking COFFEE MACHINE .

ADORABLE DOLPHINS VISIT AUSTRALIAN BEACH FOR BREAKFAST

SWIMMING slowly towards the shore, a small group of bottlenose dolphins arrive for breakfast at a beach in Western Australia .