It's a spider with a unique expression that reminded researchers of a certain someone: Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Our Kyle Midura caught up with the senator at the Capitol.

Reporter Kyle Midura: What do you think about having a spider named after you-- Spintharus berniesandersi?

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont: (laughs) I dunno. I'm speechless, I'm speechless. I hope it is attractive, nice looking spider. That's all I can say.

Kyle Midura: Have you seen a picture of it?

Sen. Bernie Sanders: It's not an attractive looking spider. What can you do? What can you say?

Last week, we spoke with UVM Professor Ingi Agnarsson. He leads teams of students to the Caribbean to search for smiley-faced spiders in the genus Spintharus. Recently, they identified 15 new species and got to name each one of them. Among the winners: David Bowie, Leonardo DiCaprio, Barack and Michelle Obama, and Bernie Sanders.

"Why don't we honor the people that kind of stand up for what we believe is the right thing to do? People that are aware of the importance of biodiversity, the people that are aware of global climate change and its threats," Agnarsson explained.

Sanders says that's what makes Spintharus berniesandersi such an honor.

"It's very nice of students to be thinking about what we are trying to do together and I appreciate that very much," he said.

Those researchers captured the spiders in the Caribbean and tested their DNA back in Vermont. That's when they realized the magnitude of their discovery.