Embryos of tuna and amberjack that were exposed to crude oil collected from the Deepwater Horizon spill developed heart and other deformities that would probably kill some of the developing fish and shorten the lives of others, a new study by a team of marine scientists reported on Monday.

Their findings, published in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, will figure in the final assessment of damages for the disaster that will be borne by BP, which operated the oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico when the disaster occurred.

An explosion and fire nearly four years ago spewed roughly 4.1 million barrels of oil into the gulf; another 800,000 barrels were contained before it could escape into the water. Remnants of the spill continue to wash up.

The new research, by 17 scientists from the United States and Australia, affirmed recent studies showing that components of crude oil deformed the embryos of herring, salmon and other fish.