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It can be fascinating without being surprising. That argument can be used to downplay any new finding in a poorly explored field.

I'd also argue that it _is_ surprising, as we'd expect the majority of unknown species to be similar to known species. It's not like every unknown species is just randomly created-- most will have ancestors that are well known and studied.

Considering that leaf-cutter ants are well-known to humans (I've seen them in a museum in Amsterdam), I'd say it is surprising that we haven't noticed this before.

I spent this summer learning about the different mushroom in my area in as much depth as possible and it is incredible how little we know about most of them besides a name and very apparent superficial features.

The article takes great pains to point out that Leaf-Cutter Ants are not an unknown species though, they're one of the most-studied species of ant.