(CNN) A new species of bone-eating worm has been discovered by scientists during a study in which they dropped alligator carcasses into the Gulf of Mexico to investigate the deep ocean's ecosystem.

The worm, which has yet to be named, is the first of its kind found in the Gulf of Mexico.

The species was discovered when it crawled on the corpse of an alligator on the ocean floor -- and completely consumed its soft tissue within 51 days.

The study, published in science journal PLOS ONE in late December, was conducted by researchers from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. They intended to investigate ocean carbon supply, hoping to find out how the deep sea, without sunlight, could support the high respiration rates of deep-sea benthos -- the community of organisms that live on the ocean floor.

Researchers believed that the remains of animals may have accounted for the benthos' carbon needs. In early 2019, they placed three alligator carcasses under the northern Gulf of Mexico, at depths of around 2 kilometers (1.2 miles). Within two days, scavengers including giant isopods -- a crustacean related to woodlice -- began crawling on the carcasses and consuming the flesh.

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