What it is
A living amphibian with a long body, a long tail and four short legs that stick out to the sides. It walks low, with its belly close to the ground.
Why it matters
In the Orobates study it was one end of the scale. Before trusting their computer with a fossil, the team checked it on two living animals: a newt, which walks low, and a caiman, which walks high. It found both walks correctly. The walks that passed for Orobates landed close to the caiman.
How low
Measure the gap between a walking animal's shoulders and its hips. A walking newt holds its body less than a quarter of that distance off the ground. A caiman holds it about half.