EXTREME BLUE COMPACT DWARF GALAXIES IN THE VIRGO CLUSTER

We present CCD images and surface photometry of six "extreme" (especially compact) blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. The photometric parameters of the galaxies are used to study their possible fate once star formation has ended. We find that they may fade to form dwarf elliptical galaxies as has previously been suggested but that the dE galaxies formed from these BCDs would lie among the most compact in existing samples. Two of the BCDs studied have no surrounding low-surface-brightness envelopes detected to a limit of mu-v = 27 mag per square arcsecond and we suggest that these would fade to form dE galaxies so very compact that they are not detected in existing surveys.