André & Colas-Belcour (1942) described the male of Ixodes kerguelenensis as a variety of I. canisuga on the basis of one specimen. Subsequently Zumpt (1952) stated that its status as a full species was unquestionable, for, compared with I. canisuga, the jugular plates on each side of the pregenital plate in I. kerguelenensis are large. The structure of Haller's organ also fully justifies this separation (Arthur, 1956). Zumpt wrote further that: ‘The specimen on which the authors based kerguelenensis was probably fully engorged so that the ventral plates would be widely separated from each other…. The single male from Kerguelen is drawn as having the anal groove diverging, but this is certainly due to a distortion of the engorged tick.’ Through the courtesy of Professor André I was permitted to examine the type. Distortion is not due to engorgement, as Zumpt suggests, but to the mounting of the specimen on a slide under a cover-glass.