A subgroup of dwarf galaxies have characteristics of a possible evolutionary transition between star-forming systems and dwarf ellipticals. These systems host significant starbursts in combination with smooth, elliptical outer envelopes, and small H i content; they are low on gas and unlikely to sustain high star-formation rates over significant cosmic time spans. We explore possible origins of such starburst "transition" dwarfs using moderately deep optical images. While galaxy-galaxy interactions could produce these galaxies, no optical evidence exists for tidal debris or other outer disturbances, and they also lack nearby giant neighbors which could supply recent perturbations. Colors of the outer regions indicate that star formation ceased >1 Gyr in the past, a longer time span than can be reasonably associated with the current starbursts. We consider mechanisms where the starbursts are tied either to interactions with other dwarfs or to the state of the interstellar medium, and discuss the possibility of episodic star-formation events associated with gas heating and cooling in low specific angular-momentum galaxies.

We present empirical H ii region oxygen abundances for a sample of low-luminosity starburst galaxies that are in a short-lived evolutionary state. All five galaxies are characterized by centrally concentrated star formation that is embedded in smooth stellar envelopes resembling dE-like systems. The galaxies also have small gas contents with typical , resulting in gas exhaustion timescales of less than 1 Gyr, even when moleculargas is considered. We find that compared to other morphologically similar systems, the galaxies of this sample have surprisingly high oxygen abundances, with . We propose that these objects are a subclass 12 ϩ log (O/H) ∼ 9.0 of evolved blue compact dwarfs that have exhausted most of their gas supply while retaining their metals. We further propose that we are seeing these objects during a short phase in which they are nearing the end of their starburst activity, and could become early-type dwarfs.