Diplodus hottentotus, the zebra, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, which includes the seabreams and porgies. This fish is found in the Western Indian Ocean off Southern Africa.

Taxonomy Diplodus hottentotus was first formally described in 1844 as Sargus hottentotus in 1844 by the Scottish surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist Andrew Smith with its type locality given as the southeastern coast of South Africa. This taxon was previously considered to be a subspecies of the D. cervinus but is now considered to be a valid species. There are two disjunct populations of this "cervinus" type seabreams in Southern Africa, one in southern Angola, and the other in southern and eastern South Africa and Mozambique, the population in the southeastern Atlantic off southern Angola is of uncertain taxonomy. The genus Diplodus is placed in the family Sparidae within the order Spariformes by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World. Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae, but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae.

Etymology Diplodus hottentotus has the specific name hottentotus, a latinisation of the pejorative term hottentot, a name given by the original Dutch colonists to the Cape to the indigenous people of that region. In this case it is thought to be geographical, referring to the South African coast.

Description Diplodus hottentotus has a deep, oval and compressed body with a depth that fits into the standard length between 2 and 2.3 times.