I, too, believe the Alaunt is the precursor to many of the “coursing Mastiffs”. Whether it’s the parent of all I do not know as the Assyrians had mastiff dogs as depicted in their phenomenal bas reliefs.

What I disagree with is the assumption that the Dogo Español would suffice as a pit dog today. American Pit Bulldogs regularly defeat Tosa Inu that are twice the Bulldog’s weight and these smaller Tosa have a high percentage of Pit Bulldog blood. Several Russian websites have dogfighting videos (and I don’t mean American Bully-looking, non-conditioned Pit Bulls vs Kangals but gamebred Bulldogs vs Volkadovs, Central Asian Shepherds, Kangals, Dogos, Tosa Inu and Presa Canary.

There is nothing magical about the American Pit Bull “Terrier”.... it’s selective breeding that has occurred since the early 1700s for dogfighting even though bull running, Bull-baiting, and Lion-baiting was more popular than dogfighting.

In fact, I say that the Pit Bulldog (in my opinion the original, more or less,
Victorian Era Baiting Bulldog) which came from same stock/phenotype as the Dogo Español and Alano Español just more specialized and refined when they were brought the USA.