--- title: Sex Life of Vampire Squids Hints at Why They Outlive Shallower Peers description: Unlike other squids, which spawn once, vampire squids can spawn many times. canonical: https://time.com/3829112/vampire-squids-reproduction-lifespan-study/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-21T01:56:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T06:32:09.728Z article:section: Science og:title: Sex Life of Vampire Squids Hints at Why They Outlive Shallower Peers og:description: Unlike other squids, which spawn once, vampire squids can spawn many times og:url: https://time.com/3829112/vampire-squids-reproduction-lifespan-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22216546a3db5ae1/6987ec08cd68483e2c09d9dc/vampire-squid.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: vampire squid og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sex Life of Vampire Squids Hints at Why They Outlive Shallower Peers twitter:description: Unlike other squids, which spawn once, vampire squids can spawn many times twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22216546a3db5ae1/6987ec08cd68483e2c09d9dc/vampire-squid.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sex Life of Vampire Squids Hints at Why They Outlive Shallower Peers by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Apr 21, 2015 1:56 AM UTC  A Vampire Squid, (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) A Vampire Squid, (Vampyroteuthis infernalis)Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Apr 21, 2015 1:56 AM UTC Ever wondered how vampire squids reproduce? Some researchers were, too, and they [found](http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0420/Vampire-squid-discovery-reminds-us-how-little-we-know-about-them) something surprising. Unlike other squids, which spawn once, vampire squids can [spawn many times](http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0420/Vampire-squid-discovery-reminds-us-how-little-we-know-about-them)—perhaps more than 100, according to a new study in _Current Biology_. The difference may be the result of a low-energy lifestyle in deep seas, where there is almost no light. As Henk-Jan Hoving, of the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, explained to the _Christian Science Monitor_, it’s possible that vampire squids simply don’t have enough energy to spawn all of their eggs at once. Since they don’t live long in captivity, Hoving says it’s difficult to know what their lifespan may be. But since animals that spawn multiple times often live longer than those that spawn only once, the discovery means it’s possible that the vampire squid may live much longer than its coleoid cephalopod counterparts. \[[_CSM_](http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0420/Vampire-squid-discovery-reminds-us-how-little-we-know-about-them)\] Sex Life of Vampire Squids Hints at Why They Outlive Shallower Peers ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3829112/vampire-squids-reproduction-lifespan-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3829112/vampire-squids-reproduction-lifespan-study/"},"headline":"Sex Life of Vampire Squids Hints at Why They Outlive Shallower Peers","datePublished":"2015-04-21T01:56:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:32:09.728Z","description":"It's about energy, or perhaps a lack of it","url":"https://time.com/3829112/vampire-squids-reproduction-lifespan-study/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22216546a3db5ae1/6987ec08cd68483e2c09d9dc/vampire-squid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22216546a3db5ae1/6987ec08cd68483e2c09d9dc/vampire-squid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"vampire squid","caption":"vampire squid","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3829112/vampire-squids-reproduction-lifespan-study/","name":"Sex Life of Vampire Squids Hints at Why They Outlive Shallower Peers"}}]}] ```