A team of scientists discovered a unique species of squids that have a method of reproduction all their own that allows them to live in incredible depths of the ocean.

According to Discovery News, the researchers, whose study is published in the journal Current Biology, dubbed the fish the "vampire squid." Officially known as Vampyroteuthis infernalis, the vampire squid gets is nickname from its appearance rather than a thirst for blood.

"Their slow mode of life seems insufficient to support one big reproductive event, unlike other coleoid cephalopods," study lead author Henk-Jan Hoving, who is working for the Cluster of Excellence "Future Ocean" at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany, said in a press release. "Perhaps it is therefore that vampire squid return to a gonadal resting phase after spawning, and presumably start accumulating energy for a new reproductive cycle."

The researchers analyzed vampire squids at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, but were not looking at them for what turned out to be the subject of the study. They wound up incidentally noticing the females were likely able to spawn offspring several times in a lifetime.

In addition to gathering more info these unique squids' mating habits, the researchers believe it is representative of how little the scientific community actually knows about creatures that dwell that far down in the ocean.

"We know very little about deep-sea organisms and their life-cycle patterns, in particular in the water column of the deep sea," Hoving said. "The patterns we know from coastal and shallow-water organisms may not apply to deep-sea species. We need to enhance our knowledge of deep-sea pelagic organisms and the system they are part [of], since the pelagic deep sea is the largest living space on the planet. A better understanding of this unique marine ecosystem will eventually allow for better development of management and conservation strategies."