Extinctio in Ignorantia (2013)

We are losing species before we even know they exist. Since Linnaeus and Darwin, humanity has been trying to document the plethora of life forms on the planet but it comes as no surprise that we will probably never know the full extent of how diverse the global biosphere is. There are only estimates with huge margins of error and we are still finding species in some of the most remote and biodiverse regions of the world (PNG, Antarctica). However, worldwide there is a lack of taxonomists to describe newly found species especially for Kingdom Fungi and unfortunately a lack of funding is one of the biggest reasons. 

Pic 1: A phylogenetic tree of the evolutionary relationships of all known species (pic stolen form University of Texas).

Lyrically we’ve attempted to capture this idea with of course the tree of life (phylogeny) and worship of trees (dendrolatry) to paint a picture complimented with a grand tapestry to reference the attempt to describe every living species and their evolutionary relaionships. 

There is a saying in biology, “Extinction is the Rule, not the Exception", and even though historically this has been the case we owe the 6th known mass extinction period which we are currently experiencing to the subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens.

Extinctio in Ignorantia

In Awe of the Great Tree,
And Thirst to Scribe Life’s riches,
Devoted hands weave in vain,
An unfinished Tapestry in stitches.

Extinctio in Ignorantia,

An unfinished Tapestry in stitches.

Extinctio in Ignorantia,

Branches lost before they are found,

The Rule is quickened by Conquest,

The Tapestry’s knot-work unwound.

Extinctio in Ignorantia

No Name for the Branches fallen

In a Forest unheard and unseen

Unheard...Unseen...

Extinctio!

Extinctio in Ignorantia


Watch: ExtinctExist - Extinctio in Ignorantia (Live at Such is Life 2013, Goongerah, Victoria)

For interests sake:
Conservation Bytes
I fucking love biodiversity (Facebook page)