The descriptor term for crater chains is catena /kəˈtiːnə/, plural catenae /kəˈtiːniː/ (Latin for "chain"), as specified by the International Astronomical Union's rules on planetary nomenclature.
[1] Many examples of such chains are thought to have been formed by the impact of a body that was broken up by tidal forces into a string of smaller objects following roughly the same orbit.
An example of such a tidally disrupted body that was observed prior to its impact on Jupiter is Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.
During the Voyager observations of the Jupiter system, planetary scientists identified 13 crater chains on Callisto and three on Ganymede (except those formed by secondary craters).
Crater chains may also be formed by a sequence of explosive cryovolcanic eruptions, such as Set Catena on Neptune's moon Triton.