[19] According to some authors, actual usage of the term "patera" had deviated from its definition,[4] and it became not only nomenclatural, but to some extent geological, being used to indicate volcanic origin of the feature.
[22][23][4] Usually volcanic crater gets a proper name if the volcano itself is low and inconspicuous.
[11][4] In some cases, names of Martian volcanic craters with the term "patera" were previously applied to the whole volcano, and it was reflected in values of their sizes given in IAU nomenclatural database.
[24][25] The term "patera" (together with 12 other nomenclatural terms) was introduced into planetary nomenclature in 1973, on XV General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, when 9 Martian paterae, imaged by Mariner 9 in 1972-1973, were named.
[28][29][30] As of August 2016, 249 paterae or their assemblages are named: 144 on Io, 73 on Venus, 20 on Mars, 6 on Ganymede, 5 on Triton and 1 on Titan.