This is a hairy spider, a member of the genus Macrothele, that can be found in the hilly areas of Ningming County, Guangxi Province in China.
[1] The primary structure of raventoxin-III is identical to that of Magi 5 (β-hexatoxin-Mg1a), a toxin found in the venom of the spider Macrothele gigas.
[5] Magi 5 binds at site 4 of the alpha subunit of the mammalian voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.2 (SCN2A).
[1] Magi-5 competes with the scorpion beta-toxin Css IV for binding to the sodium channel at neurotoxin receptor site 4.
[6] Raventoxin-VI blocks neuromuscular transmission in a rat phrenic nerve preparation.
[4] Raventoxin-I and raventoxin-III have both shown excitation, spastic paralysis, gasping, a fast heartbeat and exophthalmos in mice.
[2][3] The effect of administering the whole venom of the Macrothele raveni spider has been studied in several diseases, especially in carcinomata.