There is one animal that scientists are keeping a close eye on in order to determine how big of a hit the animal life in the Gulf has taken from the BP oil spill: the blue crab.

The blue crab is named for it’s blue-tinted claws. They also have thick shells and 10 legs, which help them survive in the Gulf. They are one of the major sustenance provider for some of the bigger animals in the area, including raccoons and whooping cranes.

Scientist’s have been monitoring the larvae of the blue crab and have recently discovered small oil droplets among them. Although some small animals can withstand a certain amount of oil and survive, a larger animal could eat too many of these tainted specimens and get a “megadose” of oil, which would be fatal.

Harriet Perry is a biologist with the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. “In my 42 years of studying crabs, I’ve never seen this,” she says. She couldn’t answer how many of the crab larvae might be contaminate, but did say that, of the area the crab inhabit, about 40 percent was affected by the oil spill.

Many fishermen are concerned about their livelihood for next year, as no one knows just how many of the larvae will survive free from contamination.  The blue crab is a popular species amongst recreational fishermen in the Gulf states.

BP has recently claimed to have capped the well from leaking more oil into the Gulf of Mexico, but they are still working on a  solution to permanently plug the oil well that has been leaking since the explosion of their Deep Water Horizon oil rig on April 20th.