  (Abridged) The characteristics of the starburst galaxies from the Pico dos
Dias survey (PDS) are compared with those of the nearby UV-bright Markarian
starburst galaxies, having the same limit in redshift ($v_h < 7500$ km
s$^{-1}$) and absolute $B$ magnitude ($M_B < -18$). An important difference is
found: the Markarian galaxies are generally undetected at 12$\mu$m and 25$\mu$m
in \textit{IRAS}. This is consistent with the UV excess shown by these galaxies
and suggests that the youngest star forming regions dominating these galaxies
are relatively free of dust.
  The FIR selection criteria for the PDS is shown to introduce a strong bias
towards massive (luminous) and large size late-type spiral galaxies. This is
contrary to the Markarian galaxies, which are found to be remarkably rich in
smaller size early-type galaxies. These results suggest that only late-type
spirals with a large and massive disk are strong emitter at 12$\mu$m and
25$\mu$m in \textit{IRAS} in the nearby universe.
