Carbon stars in the M31 dwarf spheroidals: evolutionary implications

We present results of a photometric survey for carbon stars in the M31 dwarf spheroidal galaxies. From the low frequency of carbon stars in these galaxies compared to their Milky Way cousins we conclude that they consist of predominantly ancient stellar populations. However, the complexity and variety of the metallicity distributions in the M31 dwarf spheroidals suggest that they still experienced an extended epoch of star formation.