Diplodus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging the family Sparidae, which includes the seabreams and porgies.

Diplodus was first formally proposed as a monospecific genus in 1810 by the French naturalist and polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque with Sparus annularis as its type species by monotypy.

[3] Within the genus three clades have been identified, the first consists of D. annularis and D. bellottii, the second is made up of D. vulgaris and D. prayensis while the third splits into further clades, The first of these "sub-clades" comprises D. puntazzo and Oblada melanura, a second made up of D. fasciatus and D. cervinus sensu lato (including D. hottentotus, D. omanensis and the Mascarene endemic D. striatus) while the third consists of D, vulgaris (including D. prayensis) and the D. sargus species complex.

It is also thought that the D. sargus species complex originated in the Cape Verde area and radiated and speciated from there.

The bodies may be marked with dark vertical bars or is plain silvery with a black blotch or spot on the caudal peduncle.