South America does actually have some icons that one could argue are "dragon"-like. The first one that comes to my mind is the "Crested Animal" or sometimes known as the "Recuay Dragon". This motif seems to have originated in the north-central highlands of Peru, and made its way down onto the coast during the time of the Mochica along the central coast. Alas, I can't find photos of it right now, but there are even murals of the Crested Animal present at one site (El Brujo, I think?) along the coast, in addition to being present in the ceramic icons recovered from Moche contexts. As for what it means, well, good question. There are some associations with the moon, and the crest atop this feline/reptilian/avian-ish beast may imply it is a transformative animal, spanning multiple planes of existence (Water, Earth, and Sky). Of course, this is all conjecture.

Extra credit: Another neat one that's more crocodilian than dragon is the Tello Obelisk from an older site, Chavín de Huántar. The two halves (each "dragon" takes up two sides of this four-sided obelisk) are complementary in their male/female duality, and together help tell a neat story that may be related to a modern-day Shipibo tale. If you're interested I may try to dig up notes on it and tell you a little more.