 Bacteria, algae and fungi have been identified in amber that is 220 million years old, which shows that the morphology of microorganisms has changed little since the Triassic period.The newly discovered biological role played by nickel, however — especially that brought about by volcanic eruptions from the Siberian Traps — may have accelerated the evolution of methanogens towards the end of the Permian–Triassic extinction event.Microorganisms tend to have a relatively fast rate of evolution.