Invertebrates may be the unsung heroes of the planet but they have received a lot of love and recognition from Guardian readers.

A dazzling array of nominations have flown in for insects, arachnids, snails, crustaceans, corals and many more obscure creatures for our invertebrate of the year competition.

That is not surprising when there are at least 1.3 million species to choose from. It was a big challenge to whittle down hundreds of brilliant nominations to a final shortlist of 10.

But we have, and one of those nominations will be revealed here each day over the next 10 days before everyone gets to vote for their favourite.

Guardian readers around the world are a remarkable bunch and some great naturalists and scientists made eloquent cases for their objects of study (in some cases animals they had discovered themselves) to be contenders for the 2025 invertebrate crown.

There were also some interesting trends in the nominations. There were plenty of satirical or bitterly despairing shout-outs for certain presidents, prime ministers and billionaire tech bros for supposedly lacking spines. Sadly, these do not meet our strict criteria. This competition celebrates the ingenuity and positive contribution to the planet made by our genuinely spineless brethren. After all, it is backbones that have got us into all this trouble.

There was a tranche of excellent nominations that reflect our own feelings of powerlessness in turbulent political times, with a lot of readers drawn to inspiring invertebrates that are small but remarkably resilient.

There were several nominations for the scaly-foot snail (Chrysomallon squamiferum), which lives in volcanic vents, making its shell out of iron and protecting its soft foot with iron plates. “You’re not going to get a more hardcore nomination,” said one reader.

Step forward the tardigrades, a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals who can endure boiling heat and freezing cold, and have survived being shot out of a gun and being let loose in outer space. Under a microscope, they look as cute as piglets or a small human wrapped in an enormous duvet.

There has been a lot of love for the tardigrades out there, and there is similarly strong support for the common earthworm. But Lumbricus terrestris was the slitheraway winner last year and so cannot be nominated again. (Our adorable soil-maker is fine with that by the way, but watch out for her extra-large cousin who has some heavyweight backers this year….)

Perhaps predictably there was vocal support for some of our most visible and uplifting invertebrates. Butterflies polled strongly, with the brimstone, a harbinger of spring in Europe, a popular choice, while magnificent migrants including the painted lady in Europe and the monarch in North America received attention. There were plenty of popular bumblebees among the nominees, too, but no particularly well-supported individual bee species.

More surprising, perhaps, was the strong showing for marine invertebrates. The cephalopod vote was buoyant, as admiration and understanding of these intelligent animals continues to grow. Of course the world’s largest invertebrate, the giant squid, received nominations alongside the Hawaiian bobtail squid and more obscure octopuses and delightful cuttlefish.

Plenty of less high-profile but equally charismatic marine creatures received support, especially the sea slugs, bivalves and nudibranchs. One of the most beautifully argued nominations was for the rabbit-ear barnacle (Conchoderma auritum), a real-life version of Julia Donaldson’s children’s book The Snail and the Whale – but better. If attached to a Sowerby’s beaked whale, this barnacle will be carried down on deep-sea dives to depths of 1,000 metres. Another remarkable survivor.

Back on land, there were well-made cases for many more, from the rhinoceros bot fly (Gyrostigma rhinocerontis) to the Irish well shrimp (Niphargus irlandicus).

The reasons for people’s nominations were often profound but sometimes deeply personal, poetic or just plain silly. The Pacific banana slug (Ariolimax columbianus) won several nominations for its comedy value. “This slug is so yellow. This slug is so yellow and splotchy and looks like a banana. I love this yellow slug that looks like a banana,” wrote one reader. “It lives in Canada. I live in Canada too. Big funny yellow slug.”

Ultimately, we are social animals and we get joy from our friendships with other species. There were heartwarming entries about how invertebrates touch our lives, from deeply personal traumas to simple pleasures. As one reader wrote of cicadas: “Happy noise makers on hot sunny days!”

Here’s to more friendship between all us species on our special planet.