3-Hour Sex Sessions Exhaust Squid Say Researchers

By Sara Tan Jul 19th 2012

According to Fox News, humans aren't the only ones who get tired after sex. A study published today in the journal of Biology Letters has found that squids are often too tired to swim after having three-hour-long mating sessions.

Researcher Amanda Franklin conducted a study that found post-sex, exhausted squids are unable to find food, avoid predators or mate again.



This research stands true especially for the southern dumpling squid. Taking advantage of its short time on this planet, the squid tries to live life to the fullest. At approximately 2.8 inches long, the dumpling squid mates with as many partners as it possibly can during its yearlong life.

Franklin and her colleagues observed these squid rendezvous and noted how taxing the mating ritual was.

First, they captured wild dumpling squids off the coast of southeast Australia and placed them in tanks. The squids were given an endurance test, assessing the length of time the squid swam until the point of exhaustion.

Next, the squids were put into male-female pairs. They found that after sex, the squid could swim for only half as long after mating.

"It would take up to 30 minutes to restore their swimming endurance to pre-mating levels," said Franklin.

"Using the southern dumpling squid as our research species can help us to understand the reproductive behavior of other cephalopods, as well as other species with similar mating systems," Franklin concluded.

On the bright side, at least the squids are still alive after intercourse. The male orb-web spider sacrifices himself as food to the female during mating, due to the extreme energy sex requires.

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