It’s a small world after all, as evidenced by the winners of Nikon’s 40th annual Small World Photomicrography Competition(Opens in a new window).

Rogelio Moreno won the top spot for capturing a unique image of a microscopic creature known as a rotifer, who was caught open-mouthed and facing the camera—a task that requires the utmost patience.

A computer system programmer by day, Panama-based Moreno is also a self-taught microscopist who began taking photomicrographs in 2009. This is the first time he topped the Small World competition, though he has placed each of the last three times he entered the contest.

“When you see that movement, you fall in love. I thought—wow, that is amazing. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. This is something very, very beautiful,” Moreno said of his winning image (above). “I hope now it can inspire others as much as it has inspired me—to learn about science, to look closely and notice something truly amazing.”

Moreno certainly had to look closely: Rotifers make up a phylum of almost undetectable pseudocoelomate animals, visible only through a microscope’s lens.

As this year’s winner, Moreno beat 1,200-plus entries from more than 79 countries, and joins the ranks of 36 other photomicrographers, artists, and scientists who have taken home the crown.

But now that the judges have chosen their favorites, Nikon invites the public to select their top three images(Opens in a new window) from four decades of first-place winners.

“Since the competition began 40 years ago, the caliber in quality and range of subject matter of the images, is matched only by the scientists and photographers who submit them,” Nikon communications manager Eric Flem said in a statement.

Among the more than 80 other victors recognized this week were the top 10—hailing from Italy, the U.S., Austria, Spain, and Australia—whose images cover a variety of subject matters.

Check out the slideshow above for some of our favorite shots.

“A look at our gallery is like a time capsule of the advancements made in the last four decades and truly shows the legacy a Nikon Small World continues to build,” Flem said.

The top images from the 2014 Nikon Small World Competition(Opens in a new window) are currently exhibited in a full-color calendar, and through a national museum tour, stopping first in Indiana, New York, and Tennessee, with more locations to be announced.

Those photomicrographers looking to compete in next year’s event must enter before April 30. Nikon is also holding a video competition(Opens in a new window), with a first prize of $3,000 toward the purchase of new digital equipment.

For more, check out 10 Creepy (But Amazing) Microscopic Monsters.