An asteriscus is one of the otoliths found in the lagena of many non-mammalian vertebrates.
Asteriscus maritimus
() is not an asterisk. It is a pair of rounded brackets called parentheses. An asterisk is this symbol *.Asterisk comes from the Latin word "asteriscus" and and the Ancient Greek word "asteriskos" which means "little star". It is called this because an asterisk resembles a typical star.