First Confirmed Record of Godiva rachelae Rudman, 1980 (Mollusca, Nudibranchia) from Sri Lanka

Godiva rachelae Rudman 1980 is an aeolid nudibranch (Mollusca: Gastropoda) described from Tanzania, recorded in the same work from Queensland, Australia, and later reported from the Andaman Islands, Mozambique and South Africa. This is the first confirmed record of this species from Sri Lankan waters, adding a new locality within its known Indo-West Pacific distribution. The specimen was observed in a shallow subtidal coral reef habitat along the north-western coastal region. The specimen was identified from in situ photographs based on external morphological characters. Research on opisthobranch fauna remains a highly neglected field in the country, and this work aims to help revive interest in it. This record refines the documented distribution of G . rachelae in the northern Indian Ocean and underscores the need for continued, taxonomically validated surveys of Sri Lanka’s under-documented reef habitats and heterobranch fauna.