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Zoology Optional Books for UPSC: Important UPSC Zoology Books

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: November 14th, 2023

Zoology Optional Books for UPSC would play a vital role for the candidates who have made up their mind to opt for the Zoology as their optional subject. There is no doubt that zoology is a popular subject among science students who aspire to become IAS officers. Zoology Optional Books for UPSC guide you through the scientific study of animals, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, ecology, conservation, and behavior. This is an interesting subject and it can surely be one of the best optional subjects for UPSC. However, candidates need the help of the best UPSC zoology optional books to fetch good marks in this subject.

There are tons of options when it comes to choosing the best books for zoology optional UPSC. That is why to make this process less confusing for the candidates we have prepared a list of all the highly recommended UPSC zoology optional books below. 

Zoology Optional Books for UPSC

There are two papers for the zoology optional- Paper-1 and Paper-2 and each paper carries 250 marks. How much you score in the optional subject would contribute highly to your selection in UPSC Mains. That’s why candidates must have an effective preparation strategy by choosing the right Zoology Optional Books for UPSC.

Paper-1 of the Zoology UPSC Optional Syllabus includes Non-Chordata and Chordata, Ecology, Ethology, Economic Zoology, Biostatistics, and Instrumentation Methods. On the other hand, Paper-2 contains Cell Biology, Genetics, Evolution, Systematics, Biochemistry, etc. Below we have prepared a UPSC zoology optional booklist that would help you cover all these above-mentioned topics.

  • Cell and Molecular Biology – De Robertis, C.B. Powar
  • Vertebrates – R.L. Kotpal, Nigam, Jordan and Varma
  • Comparative anatomy of vertebrate zoology – Kent
  • Animal physiology – H.R. Singh, Vander
  • Biochemistry – Harper, Leninger, Stryer, Rao
  • Embryology – Balinsky, A.K. Berry, Vir Bala Rastogi
  • Genetics – P.K. Gupta, Gardner, Ahluwalia, Vir Bala Rastogi
  • Invertebrates – R.L. Kotpal, Nigam, Jordan
  • Organic evolution – Veer Bala Rastogi
  • Ecology – P.D. Sharma, Odum, Vir Bala Rastogi, and M.S. Jayaraj, Kotpal and Bali
  • Economic Zoology – Shukla and Upadhaya, Kotpal Series, Kotpal- Khetrapal – Agarwal
  • General Zoology – Storer and Usurger
  • Physiology – H.R. Singh
  • Evolution – Vir Bala Rastogi
  • A Dictionary of Entomology – Leftwich
  • Ethology – Reena Mathur, Magazines like Science Reporter, Nature, etc.

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UPSC Zoology Optional Booklist PDF

Candidates can download the above-mentioned UPSC zoology optional booklist in PDF format from the link given below. Keeping a list of the important zoology books would help the candidates to choose the right book for their preparation, and they will be able to understand the concepts in a better way.

>> Download Zoology Optional Books for UPSC PDF

Strategy to Cover Zoology Optional Books for UPSC

UPSC Books contain vast topics which are not easy to cover within a limited period of time, and that’s why it is vital to cover these books with a strategic approach. The same goes with the UPSC zoology optional books, and below we have prepared how candidates can cover the books for Paper-1 and Paper-2.

  • Candidates need to keep the zoology optional syllabus with them while covering the books so that they don’t miss the important topics.
  • The theories of Chordata and non-Chordata sections need to be done properly from the books. Additionally, the subsections economic zoology, bio stats, and bio instrumentation are scoring topics so candidates need to study these thoroughly from the Zoology Optional Books for UPSC.
  • Choose the books as per your comfort and level of understanding. If you are a complete beginner and are not familiar with zoology, it would be best to start with basic books first, and with time, you can shift to the advanced ones.
  • Make sure you practice the diagrams daily from the books. It is not a good idea to revise the topics from your books during the revision period, and that’s why note down the core points so that you can revise easily during your revision period.
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