Ok, Most people think dragons as the huge fire-breathing scaled and winged beasts of European lore. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but we should all be aware that that is only one type of the huge category called dragons.
Dragons have been in lore and legend in almost all countries and civilizations. Dragons around the world come in all shapes and sizes and have both been regarded with fear and awe, seen as evil and as a symbol of good luck.
The typical dragon of Europe usually ranged from yellow to brown to green to red (supposed to be the most vicious and evil of the European dragons). In Europe dragons have been long considered an evil threat to humanity and were believed to have been hunted to extinction during the dark ages by the knights.
These dragons were large creatures, usually about three stories tall, and much, much longer. These were massive creatures that had a full 'armor' of scales all over their bodies that was nearly impenetrable. These dragon's claws were said to be s hard as diamonds and they were the only thing that could pierce a dragon's scales. The European dragons usually could breath fire.
Usually these dragons lived in mountains caves or in the forest, a few lived in sea caves, but those were much more rare, considering water was believed to put out a dragon's fire.
These dragons were highly intelligent and usually were tricksters and often spoke in riddles. These dragons usually could speak in many different languages and most could read. They lived for hundreds of years at a time and learned to read and speak different languages out of boredom.
Most of the time these dragons would hunt game in the forest, but they were not above stealing sheep from herds or taking the occasional human for a snack, especially when one happened to wander into it's territory.
These dragons were extremely greedy and collected armor, jewels, and any other treasure they could for their hoards, and stashed them away in their caves. These hoards were jealously guarded and many a dragon ended up sitting on their hoard until they were to large and could no longer leave their caves.
Many don't know that there was supposed to be a reason they horded such items, the many jewels and gold items actually helped the dragons enter the next life. The dragons would go to the extreme to gather the hoards because when they began to die, they would eat the hoard and go to the dragon graveyard. There the gold would mix with their insides and create a reaction that ate away at their bodies. The dragons believed that they could not enter the next life until the body was gone from this world, so thus they sped up the decomposition process.
Chins dragons are much different than the European dragons, even with their close proximity. The Chinese people believed that a dragon was good luck, and seeing one meant that you would have good fortune come your way.
The Chinese dragons were long snake-like dragons, some had scales, but most had fur, although many did have furry scales, combining the two forms. These Chinese dragons were reclusive and liked to stay hidden. Unlike the European dragons the Chinese dragons lived in the seas, the rivers, under waterfalls, in the forests, in the mountains, everywhere.
Some of these dragons could breathe fire, it depended on the dragon. Likewise, some could breathe water or wind or ice. These dragons were much more elemental than their European cousins.
Chinese dragons could fly, although they had no wings. Most had four legs, two in front, and two in back. Most had long flowing 'beards' that were more like whiskers than anything. These creatures were usually the guardians of where they inhabited, and often legends speak of their power to transform into human form.
These dragons were revered for their good luck. Many Chinese parades have dancing dragons that are supposed to either represent these good luck dragons, or to lure them to the parade to give the people luck, depending.
"The Aztecs/Mayans viewed dragons in both a positive and negative way. The other cultures of South America also shared this view.
[A specific type of dragon called the] Chac was mainly involved with the rain-making, but he ruled over all bodies of water. He required royal sacrifices from Earth, but, in turn, he would shed his own blood so that there would be rain.
Chac was said to have a long noise, fish scales, catfish-like whiskers, deer ears, and a crocodilian head. Many times he has an axe, his lightning axe, in his hand which he would use to produce lightnings.
[Another of the Aztec/Mayan dragons,] "Coatlcue[,] was represented as a woman. More often, however, she wore a skirt of snakes, and she had two dragon heads. She was the goddess of duality of nature. She sometimes is also depicted with a heart necklace and claws.
"Coatlcue also represented maternal fertility. She was the mother of Huitzilopochtli. When she became pregnant with Huitzilopochtli, her children (centzon huitznahua) were outraged, and they prepared to make war upon their mother. They were led by Coyolxauhqui.
"Needless, to say, Coatlicue was afraid, but a voice from her womb told her not worry. She gave birth to Huitzilopochtli, a fully grown and dressed warrior.. Using his xiucoatl (serpent of lightning), he fought off his siblings and killed Coyolxauhqui.
Coatlcue is a symbol of nature for the Aztecs. The fact that she was feared by them shows how they perceived nature"
1South America had many dragons, although most of them were dragon-beasts, and not only the Aztecs and Mayans were the ones that believed in them.
Another of the dragons of South America was the dragon-beast "Patagonia[,] This creature is wise like a fox and has the foreparts of a fox as well. However, it uses its serpent's tail to ensnare victims. Like a snake, this creature will crush the victim until dead and then eat him or her.
[Also they had the] The Ihuaivulu[, which] is said to live in volcanoes. He can breathe fire, and thus is harmful to anything that meets him. The Ihuaivulu is said to have seven heads and to be quite massive."
1"The dragon of the African and Middle Eastern world is a chimerical figure, composed of natural animals yet binding together ancient qualities that allude to mythical origins. The African serpent is a highly cosmological figure[.]"
2Mostly serpentine, the Dragons of the oceans are usually deep down in the watery depths that remain unexplored by mankind. These dragons are immense and often prorated as monstrous beasts that consume ships whole.
"The dragons of Oceania are the ancestral forefathers of contemporary folklore. Oceanic dragons have respectfully remained unchanged throughout their years; it is by looking at these creatures we stare into the heart of the dragon."
2I do know of a few 'American dragons' but it is nearly imposable to find any without finding 'American Dragon Jake Long' from Disney. All I could find was this brief sentence that doesn’t tell a whole lot.
"The magnificence of the American dragon is truly outstanding; from the divine to the dark, these are creatures that blur the line between dragon and serpent."
2In short, Dragons are truly a phenomenon that have swept the entire world and captured the imagination of many, in many different cultures and times. Dragons can be found in jewelry, on posters, on shirts, in games, in books, on people in the form of tattoos, and in lurking in the minds of many. Truly, if not the lords of the lands, Dragons have become a lord in their own right; the lords of myth and all things mystical.
1.
http://blackdrago.com/famous_southamer.htm2.
http://sommerland.org/ondragons/races/ 
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